Heart And Soul
by Skylark Starflower
Summary: Dr. Julien has done many things in life that he's not proud of, but were they all for the best?


Author's Note/Disclaimer: I don't own Ninjago. Never did, and never will.

This took me forever to finish. Writer's block sucks. Either way, I wanted to shove this out there before season seven comes along and RUINS EVERYTHING. (Though I have been watching the foreign language leaks because I'm a moron and so far, there's nothing I can understand that contradicts me yet. MWAA HAA HAA!) So please enjoy this tragic tale about Dr. Julien and the past that led to Zane's creation, at least in my ficverse. Because I am a monster. :3

" **Heart and Soul"  
By Skylark Starflower  
Started September 28** **th** **, 2016  
Finished January 5** **th** **, 2017**

Moving carefully through the trees, Dr. Julien made his way back home. He was lucky so far, making the journey to and from town safely, but it was anyone's guess when his luck would run out. The woods were full of treehorns; he could come across one at any time. He really should complete the defence robot he was currently building, but for now, he needed to focus on getting home. Zane would be waiting for him.

A sudden, piercing cry cut the air and Julien froze. What was that?

It came again. He followed the noise as it devolved into a cacophony of furious screams and ruffling feathers. By the time he located the source, everything had gone deathly silent. The snow was spattered with blood, feathers scattered about. Not far from where he stood lay a falcon.

The bird was hurt, and badly. Blood oozed from several nasty gashes, its sides heaving as it struggled to breath. It attempted to flap its wings in an effort to stand up and fly, but it soon became clear that it wasn't going anywhere. One wing was plainly broken, and it was far too weak to do much more than shuffle feebly.

Julien approached the wounded bird carefully. It quickly noticed the movement, fixing a wary eye on the doctor. Julien found he was glad for the thick gloves he was wearing due to the weather. Removing the bag he was carrying on his back, Dr. Julien rummaged through it until he found a blanket. He spread it out in the snow before turning back to the falcon.

The bird snapped feebly at the doctor's hands as he attempted to pick it up, but it didn't have the strength to break through his gloves. Lifting carefully, Julien transferred the bird to the blanket, quickly and carefully wrapping it up so only its head poked out. After gathering up his bag, he lifted the falcon and cradled it gently to his chest as he continued on his way home.

X X X

"Zane, I'm home!"

Dr. Julien made his way down the stairs. His son came to stand at the bottom, eagerly awaiting him. His father had promised to bring him some more books from town. The boy was slowly amassing a large library, but Dr. Julien wasn't about to dissuade him from learning. Zane's expression became one of curiosity when he noticed the blanket his father was carrying.

"What's that?" he asked, reaching towards it.

Dr. Julien held out a hand to stop him, then set his bag down. "Careful, it might bite you," he replied. Zane withdrew his hand, following his father over to the fireplace. Julien set the bundle down on the floor, then thought better of it. "Zane, could you fetch me a box, please?"

Zane did as asked, and watched as his father placed the bundle inside before carefully unwrapping it. The falcon was still alive, glaring balefully at Julien and his son, but too tired and weak to move.

Zane was fascinated. He watched as his father did his best to treat the bird's wounds. Once Julien was done, Zane carefully reached out to pet the falcon. It didn't seem to know what to make of the situation, but it appeared to understand that Julien and his son were trying to help.

Dr. Julien left Zane with the bird and went to retrieve and unpack his bag. Once that was done, he took some strips of meat from the rations he'd purchased and brought them over to offer to the falcon. It looked at them, but made no move to take them. Julien laid the meat within range of the bird's beak, in case it chose to eat later.

"What happened to it?" asked Zane.

"I don't know. It sounded like something attacked it."

"Poor thing." Zane continued to gently run his fingers through the bird's feathers. "Is it going to be okay?"

Julien let out a sigh. "I don't know, son."

The mood the rest of the evening was tense. Zane didn't want to leave the bird's side, perhaps misguidedly believing it would be okay as long as he was there with it. He spent the next few hours with it, watching it nibble half-heartedly at the meat, but not eating any of it.

Dr. Julien began to regret letting Zane know about the falcon. The boy had already grown quite attached to it, but it wasn't looking like the bird would survive the night. Honestly, he wasn't sure why he had brought it home to begin with. He was too soft sometimes.

Eventually, Dr. Julien announced it was time for Zane to go to bed. He expected the boy to protest, and he did, vehemently. In the end, Julien let him stay up, instead waiting for Zane to pass out on his own before carrying him off to bed. Once that was dealt with, he approached the falcon.

It was still, save for the gentle rise and fall of its sides as it breathed. The meat Julien left for it sat, still barely touched, next to its head. Its eyes were getting cloudy; it wouldn't be long now.

Carefully, Dr. Julien lifted the dying bird, box and all, and carried it over to one side of the small home. Flipping a concealed switch, he opened a hidden door in the wall and entered his secret workshop. Zane didn't know about this room, and, if Julien had his way, he never would.

The workshop contained inventions that either never worked as intended, or were otherwise abandoned due to being far too dangerous. Others still he had simply never finished or were the beginnings of things he had scrapped and started over. In one corner, there was the start of another robot frame, nowhere near complete, and smaller than Zane had ended up being. Julien really meant to pull a sheet over it, but he still hadn't gotten around to it.

Setting the falcon down on a table, he approached a small contraption. It resembled an electric stand mixer, except that instead of a mixer head and bowl, there were two curved metal prongs that spun around a flat surface. Dr. Julien grabbed the cord for the machine and plugged it in for the first time in several years. He hesitated for just a moment before flipping it on.

The machine came to life with a quiet hum, the metal claws beginning to spin. Once Dr. Julien was sure that it was functioning as intended, he turned and left the room, leaving the falcon and the invention behind.

Closing the door as he left, in the chance that Zane would wake and try to sneak out of bed, Julien made his way to a chair and slumped into it. He wasn't really sure why he was even doing this, honestly. All it did was dredge up bad memories…

X X X

 _"What have you done?" She raised an eyebrow, taking in the device in Julien's hands. "And are you planning to do this with all my kitchen appliances?"_

 _Julien smiled in return. "Just the broken ones."_

 _"Okay, so what does it do?"_

 _Julien set the machine down and plugged it in. "If my calculations are correct, it should be able to process raw energy from the air and condense it into powerful crystals. If it works, just one the size of a child's fist could power an entire village for a year." He couldn't help laughing at her look of shock. "It's just my little attempt to solve the energy problem."_

 _She nodded, clearly impressed. "If it works."_

 _"Yes, indeed." Julien's finger hovered over the power switch. "Did you want to watch the test run?"_

 _"Of course! Turn it on, let's see what this baby can do!"_

 _Julien nodded and flipped the power switch. The room was filled with a quiet hum as the prongs began to spin, but otherwise, nothing seemed to happen._

 _"How long is it supposed to take?" she asked after a few minutes._

 _"Hmm…" Dr. Julien frowned. "It should have been instantaneous. Something must be off with the design." He shut the machine off. "I'll have to take another look at it."_

 _"In the morning, though, right?"_

 _Julien looked back and forth between his wife and his invention for a moment. He was well aware of how late it was, having spent most of the day in his workshop, building the thing. "I'll be there in a moment, Emma," he replied finally. "Just let me put this away, first."_

X X X

 _He blinked his eyes open slowly. It was still dark, why was Emma waking him at this hour?_

 _He turned to face her as he became aware of her soft crying. Tears glistened on her face in the dim moonlight from the window. "What's wrong?" he asked, concerned._

 _Emma didn't reply; instead she simply clung to him, burying her face in his chest as she continued to sob. Silent, he wrapped his arms around her, holding and rocking her gently until she finally calmed down._

 _"Sorry," she murmured into the depths of his pyjamas._

 _"You have nothing to apologize for," he replied, stroking her hair. "Nightmare?"_

 _She hesitated for a moment before nodding. "Something like that."_

 _Her hesitation worried him; there was something she wasn't telling him. He knew about her abilities, and her occasional prophetic dreams. Her 'nightmare' must have been more than just a simple dream. Still, he wasn't going to push her about it. She would tell him about it in her own time, as she usually did._

 _"Julien?"_

 _Her quiet voice cut through his thoughts, drawing his attention back to her. "Yes?"_

 _"Hold me, okay? Just…please, don't let go."_

 _"Of course…"_

X X X

 _"Hello, my baby, hello my honey, hello my ragtime gal!"_

 _Julien couldn't help laughing as Emma's voice carried over the snow and through the trees. Her goofy song and dance routine never failed to cheer him up. She loved old show tunes, but this one in particular was her favourite._

 _She continued to sing and dance around him as the two headed for home. Due to Julien's work sometimes having a nasty tendency to explode, the two had set up outside of town, to keep disruptions to the townsfolk to a minimum. Today was grocery day._

 _Julien adjusted the pack on his back as Emma finished her song, coming to walk beside him, smiling and still humming. The two waved to some children as they passed by, watching them play in the snow._

 _As they walked on, Dr. Julien couldn't help notice his wife's expression as it became sombre. "Is something the matter?" he asked._

 _"Hmm?" She gave her head a slight shake before turning to face him. "Not really, no. I was just thinking, though… It would have been nice to have a son. Someone to carry on my legacy."_

 _Julien didn't have time to ponder her phrasing as the sounds of the children playing suddenly became screams of terror. The two wheeled about, horrified to find the children being menaced by a trio of treehorns. The beasts had materialised from out of nowhere, and now surrounded the frightened children._

 _Julien didn't know what to do. He was an inventor, not a fighter. He glanced to his young wife, only to find her expression set. She turned to him, handing him her own pack._

 _"Julien, you know I have to… It's my duty to protect those who can't protect themselves. Go home, be safe, and put it to good use. I love you." With that, Emma kissed him before shoving him in the direction of home._

 _He hesitated for only a moment, watching her charge the treehorns, yelling for the children to run, ice swirling about her. Unable to watch further, he broke and ran for home._

 _Once inside, he slammed the door shut and slid to the floor, his breath coming in ragged sobs. He knew, somehow, that Emma wasn't going to be coming back. There was something about her manner; she'd known all along, and she hadn't said a word. Still, what could he have done? If he'd stayed, the treehorns would have killed him, too. But, what did she mean by 'put it to good use'?_

 _He stayed at the door for several moments until something unusual caught his eye. A strange, shining blue light was filtering in through the cracks. As if it was attracted by something, it flowed through the air, towards his workshop._

 _Curiosity overriding his grief for a moment, Julien stood and followed. Inside, he found his energy condenser, on and running. He must have forgotten to switch it off before leaving. It was into this machine that the light now travelled._

 _The prongs continued to spin, gathering the light around them like so much wool before it began to condense on the platform. To Julien's surprise, instead of becoming a solid crystal, it took the form of a glowing disc._

 _Once he was certain the invention had finished its job, he walked over and turned it off. Slipping on a glove, he carefully lifted the glowing blue disc, examining it. He wasn't sure what to make of it, though he had a terrible suspicion about what it was. She had told him to 'put it to good use', but, if he was right about what it was…was that even ethical?_

 _With a sigh, he set it down once more before returning to the front door. He could already hear the commotion going on outside. It was just a matter of time before someone came to fetch him. He could worry about the strange disc later._

X X X

Dr. Julien ran a hand across his eyes, wiping away tears. Emma wanted a son, so in a way, he had given her one. Though he had put off use of the blue disc for several years, fighting with his conscience over whether or not it was right to do what he'd had in mind, even if Emma had basically given her permission. Ninjago needed a master of ice, after all.

His suspicions were confirmed almost immediately after first activating the boy. He knew exactly what this power source was and where it had come from. It was unfortunate that he'd had to build in a humour switch to keep it turned off, preventing Zane from going into _that_ song and dance routine. It wasn't something Zane was programmed to do, and Julien couldn't stand the reminder.

Sighing, he checked the time before standing and heading back into his hidden workshop. The energy condenser was still running, but now there was a small, yellow disc on the platform. Julien turned the machine off before checking on the falcon.

The bird looked peaceful in death. It was a small comfort to Julien to know it was no longer suffering. Wrapping it in the blanket, he took it outside and buried it.

Once that was done, he returned to retrieve the yellow disc. Then he closed up the secret workshop once more before setting up at his usual workspace. Setting down the solidified soul, Dr. Julien brought out a sheet of blueprint paper and a silver pencil and began to sketch.

Zane had wanted a pet for a while now, anyway.

The End


End file.
